Business Research Project Part 3: Pear, Inc. Jessica Butcher, Chris Jacko John, Shawna Lister, Tiffany McLean, Marilyn Wilbur, QNT 561 August 11, 2014 Heidi Carty Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT PART 2: PEAR, INC. 1 BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT PART 2: PEAR, INC. 7 Business Research Project Part 1: Pear, Inc. Introduction The company that we chose was Pear, Inc., which is a pseudonym for Apple, Inc. In the assignment, the variables and the research question will be revealed as well as the hypothesis statements that have come about. The paper will also go in to more depth about the company and the main product the company sells and manufactures. Variables The desired relationship for analysis of the research project involving Pear, Inc. includes the salaries of all employees (dependent variable), and the amount of products sold (independent variable). The question that needs to be answered is: Is there a correlation between the salaries of all employees (dependent variable) based on the amount of product sold (independent variable)? Pear, Inc.’s Scenario For the purpose of developing a research question, we have selected a hypothetical company called Pear, Inc. to develop scenarios analyze. Pear, Inc. concentrates on manufacturing and selling top of the line electronics, including laptops to cellphones. Software production is another department that Pear, Inc. emphasizes on. The operating system that Pear, Inc. developed is called “The Pear Operating System” and is comparable to other software. Sales is a department that is highly focused on in order to make the product known to the public and to remain competitive against other companies. Sales departments are established across the country to attract consumers and to provide opportunities for customers to try the products before making a decision to purchase Pear's electronic products. Sales personnel are highly experienced in performing direct sales and internet sales. Along with excellent benefit packages, the level of experience and qualification of an employee determine salaries. The managers are formulating a research question whether all the employee salaries have a direct correlation with the amount of sales of products. Our managers have formed into a team to work on the research question. Each team member will be concentrating on specified areas as identifying the organization, selecting variables, developing scenarios, developing a research question and creating a hypothesis statements. Hypothesis Statements At Pear, Inc., the salaries of employees is being examined with respect to the amount of products being sold. Our hypothesis statements are: · H0: There is no correlation between the salaries of Pear, Inc. employees and the amount of products sold. · H1: There is a correlation between the salaries of Pear, Inc. employees and the amount of products sold. These hypothesis statements represent a possible correlation, since both variables are numeric ...

1. Business Research Project Part 3: Pear, Inc.
Jessica Butcher, Chris Jacko John, Shawna Lister, Tiffany
McLean, Marilyn Wilbur,
QNT 561
August 11, 2014
Heidi Carty
Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT PART 2:
PEAR, INC.
1
BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT PART 2: PEAR, INC.
7
Business Research Project Part 1: Pear, Inc.
Introduction
The company that we chose was Pear, Inc., which is a
pseudonym for Apple, Inc. In the assignment, the variables and
the research question will be revealed as well as the hypothesis
statements that have come about. The paper will also go in to
more depth about the company and the main product the
company sells and manufactures.
Variables
The desired relationship for analysis of the research
project involving Pear, Inc. includes the salaries of all
employees (dependent variable), and the amount of products

2. sold (independent variable). The question that needs to be
answered is: Is there a correlation between the salaries of all
employees (dependent variable) based on the amount of product
sold (independent variable)?
Pear, Inc.’s Scenario
For the purpose of developing a research question, we have
selected a hypothetical company called Pear, Inc. to develop
scenarios analyze. Pear, Inc. concentrates on manufacturing
and selling top of the line electronics, including laptops to
cellphones. Software production is another department that
Pear, Inc. emphasizes on. The operating system that Pear, Inc.
developed is called “The Pear Operating System” and is
comparable to other software. Sales is a department that is
highly focused on in order to make the product known to the
public and to remain competitive against other companies.
Sales departments are established across the country to attract
consumers and to provide opportunities for customers to try the
products before making a decision to purchase Pear's electronic
products. Sales personnel are highly experienced in performing
direct sales and internet sales. Along with excellent benefit
packages, the level of experience and qualification of an
employee determine salaries. The managers are formulating a
research question whether all the employee salaries have a
direct correlation with the amount of sales of products. Our
managers have formed into a team to work on the research
question. Each team member will be concentrating on specified
areas as identifying the organization, selecting variables,
developing scenarios, developing a research question and
creating a hypothesis statements.
Hypothesis Statements
At Pear, Inc., the salaries of employees is being examined
with respect to the amount of products being sold. Our
hypothesis statements are:
· H0: There is no correlation between the salaries of Pear, Inc.
employees and the amount of products sold.
· H1: There is a correlation between the salaries of Pear, Inc.

3. employees and the amount of products sold.
These hypothesis statements represent a possible correlation,
since both variables are numeric and quantitative.
Conclusion
It is determined that Pear, Inc. will be used for the research
question. This company is a large electronics company that is
highly dependent on the sales department. The research
question that has been developed includes the salaries of the
sales employees and the correlation of the amount of products
sold. The hypothesis statements show the possible correlation
between salaries and the amount of product sold.
Software developer profession expanding
This article discusses the amount of developer positions
available compared to the amount of software engineers to fill
them. All across the world the gap between the two increases.
“Remaining fears on the part of some students and their parents
about IT job security after the dot-com fallout—while
unwarranted—are negatively affecting software engineering
enrollments, which will also temporarily widen the gap. (Geer,
2006, p.112). While companies continue to lead the pathway in
technology software engineer positions will decrease.
Motivating and Keeping Software Developers
This article discusses quality measurements to use when
motivating and keeping software developers. The author
emphasis the use of annual salary surveys. “If you fail to
recognize and react to market trends, you will lose key
developers” (Whitaker, 1997, p.127). There are wrong ways
and right ways when it comes to rewarding your employees.
Dealing with software timetables can play a factor so one will
not want to offer an incentive prior to the software being
developed.
2008 Salary Report
This survey discusses the comparison of Engineering
Workforce Commission data from the last five annual salary

4. surveys. “According to the National Association of Colleges
and Employers, the chemical industries boasted the second
brightest outlook of any category of employer, being exceeded
only by computer-software-development companies”
(Torzewski, 2008, p. 1). The article discusses how the slowing
economy as well as foreign markets experiencing the same
slowing, could negatively impact the computer-software-
development companies.
AIChe salary research survey
A survey about chemical engineers salaries across continents
and categorized with level of education as in terms of bachelors,
masters and PH.D. Different age group is added in to the sample
because age does play in determining the level of experience in
the field. Salaries according to employee and employer
characteristics are also taken in to account and are expressed in
medians. Samples were collected from all members across the
world using their e-mail addresses who are mostly AIche
members. “Members residing outside the United States or over
the age of 70 were excluded from the original sample frame” (
2009 AIChE salary survey, 2009, Para 27). Not all members
participated in the salary research survey.
Turning point analysis article
This survey was about the different survey methods used
by Universities across the nation about revenue predictions for
each States. “This article reviews many of the national
forecasting models examining consumer sentiment currently in
use. And it compares the Utah experience with surveys used in
other states” (MacDonald & Haggard, 1990, Para 1). Consumer
sentiment indices are added in to look for any changes in wages.
Organizational survey non-response
This article was about organizations non-response that predicts
organizational behaviors and different variables are used in
analyzing the samples. “Analysis identifies a series of
organizational sources of non-response that have clear
consequences for final sample bias” (Tomaskovic-Devey, Leiter

5. & Thompson, 1994).
Productivity in the retail industry
In this study, Vasanthakumar Bhat studied the ownership of
shares by corporate insiders was analyzed and compared with
the success of the retail industries they are from. The study
included the assets and sales as the inputs, and the income and
stock market values as outputs. Data Envelopment Analysis
(DEA) was used to the performance, efficiencies, and
relationships between the inputs and outputs with the insiders’
ownership. As a result, Bhat saw high correlations of the
insider holdings and the efficiency of the constant returns to
scale, as well as with the efficiency of the total earning assets
(Bhat, 2008). These relationships represent that there are other
portions of the company that deduct and add to the income of
employees, and it also varies if the higher executives are
corporate insiders as well.
How Much is the Average Salary of an Apple Employee?
In this article from John Brownlee of the Cult of Mac website,
the average salaries for Apple employees are discussed. Since
Pear, Inc. is in the same industry as Apple, the jobs and salaries
are relatively comparable. According to Brownlee, the
employees of Apple who sell the products make significantly
less than engineers, designers, and higher up executives
(Brownlee, 2012). For example, an Apple Store Genius only
makes about $38,000 a year, where a Systems Engineer makes
over $94,000 a year. The Geniuses are the ones selling the
products, but do not receive a commission on any sales.
If You Want to Get Rich, Work for These Companies
Even though the lower pay at Apple is a bit of a letdown, Calio,
Frohlich, Hess, and McIntyre explain in the 24/7 WallSt article
that technology companies are one of the best paying industries
to be a part of (Calio, Frohlich, Hess, & McIntyre, 2014). The
median annual salary at Apple is over $123,000, and even
though sales do not affect the salary of sales associates, it does
affect the amount executives get.

6. The Strategic Sales Organization
There is new evidence showing that the important decisions of a
company that are associated with the marketing strategies are
being made in the sales department. Many companies are using
the sales department and employees to help put together the
marketing strategies of the company. When it comes to
knowing and understanding the needs of buyers, companies are
finding that the sales organizations can predict what the buyer
wants better than the marketing department. “It is likely that
one of the developing roles of the strategic sales organization
will be in managing processes of customer value definition,
development and delivery that cut across functional interfaces
to build real customer focus.” (Piercy, 2006)
The Effect of Product Sales Quotas on Sales Force Productivity
The article describes how sales quotas may affect the income of
sales person inside the company. “The first assumption is that
salesmen always try to allocate their sales time among products
in a way that will result in maximum income for themselves.”
(Winer, 1973). The article shows that most sales persons are
proven to be more likely to achieve their quotas rather than
reaching a maximum dollar amount. The article explains that
quotas should be challenging and set high. The article
explained an experiment where sales managers were allowed to
trade-off the sales person. This allowed managers to experience
other sales person who may be struggling to meet a certain
quota. The experiment showed that sometimes it could benefit
the company by trading-off struggling employees to help
maximize the sales of the company.
Salary plus benefits: Looking at the whole package
When looking at the salary of an employee it is important to
look at the entire package that is included in the employee’s
benefits. There may be things that are overlooked when salaries
are being looked at. There may be things such as bonuses,
overtime, health insurance and retirement plans. Not all

7. salaries are just the base salary of the employee it is also the
benefits that are included. Employees need to look at the
benefits and extras they receive when it comes to a job and not
just the salary.
Many companies use the benefits to entice employees to
come and work for them. “A standard benefit package usually
includes a specified number of days for paid vacation, illness or
personal use for doctor's appointments, jury duty, funerals, or
military leave. Life insurance, medical coverage with or without
dental and vision plans, and a retirement savings plan round out
the standard package.” (Neuman, 1998). It is important for
employees to know and understand what other benefits they will
receive with their salary before making a decision of what
company they want to work for.
Employee involvement and organizational effectiveness
In this study, they wanted to find out to what degree the
employees had on the company’s profitability, productivity, and
market share. They did a cross sectional survey with a
population of 388 managers randomly drawn from a population
size of 13,339 managers of all the 24 banks in Nigeria (Amah &
Ahiauzu, 2013). The independent variable, “employee
involvement” orientation, and capacity development, and is the
dependent variable, “organizational effectiveness” was
measured by profitability, productivity, and market share (Amah
& Ahiauzu, 2013). The results showed that the employees were
affected the business production.
The Product-Price Nexus and Social Relations
This study was to prove the product price nexus it is said that
there is see a relationship between products and their prices that
is inversely correlated to the level of social interaction between
customer and bartenders at and New Your Bar and a bar in
Australia (Burgess, 2013). It was found that the bar in New
York had a weaker PPN Due to the fact that there were less
structured rules and things were no formal as with the bar in
Australia the rules for that bar were more structure. The
bartenders had to keep the interaction to a minimum. This was

8. said to give the customer a better sense of trust, and that is why
the bar in Australia had a higher PPN. Even with the fact that
the bar in New York had higher wages and they had higher tips
from the customers.
Designing Distribution system of rewards and influence on
Employees Satisfaction Case Study
This article was about minimizing job dissatisfaction through a
coordinated system of payment in order to increase employees'
satisfaction and productivity in Hamgamkhodro, Asia factory
(Niki & Nili, 2012). The article talked about how the
productivity of the company had increased after the system had
been put into place. The theory was simple: as the employee’s
skill increased, so did the reward, such as how much they were
getting paid. This is something very common in the United
States that is not done there. They were surprised by the
outcome. The labor cost they found out was directly related to
their sales so happy employees more sales.
Revised Research Question
Is there a correlation between the salaries of all employees
(dependent variable) based on the amount of product sold
(independent variable)?
Sampling and data collection plan
Population and Size
Pear, Inc. is a large company with many employees throughout
the world. The population for this sampling and data collection
plan is going to be the sales employees of Pear, Inc. All the
information that will be collected will involve all sales
employees that work for Pear, Inc. This means that the target
population for this research question will also be the sales
employees. The reason for this being the target population is
the fact that the sales employees will be the only ones whose
salaries would affect the amount of products that may be sold.
Since there is a large number of employees, not all sales
employees will be used for the data that will be tested. There
will only be a certain amount of the sales employees that will be
randomly selected for the research survey. The amount of

9. employees that will be selected for the research survey will be
determined by a systematic sampling method.
Sample Collection
Sampling is one of the factors that need carefully consideration
in conducting a research study if it is focused on a specific
group of people belonging to certain job title so accurate
measurements can be made. For Pear, Inc. a systematic
sampling method will be used to collect samples for the
research to test our research hypothesis. Employees from the
sales departments will be concentrated mostly in collecting the
samples so systematic method is the best approach in collecting
data from a large pool of employees. Information regarding
employee names and position will be collected from company
human resources department. Pear, Inc. holds more than 35,000
employees located across the nation offering their excellent
customer service all around the world. Invitation regarding the
participation of taking part in the survey will sent to all selected
employees via their company e-mail. Selected employees are
expected to participate, but if there is a shortage, additional
selected samples will be added to meet the calculated sample
size. Sample size will be 385 based on 95% confidence level
with 5% error margin. Calculation is added in Appendix B.
Data Collection
The survey that will be given to each subject is in Appendix A.
The employee survey on SuveryMonkey will be provided on a
private computer in a single room, without the presence of
anyone else. Once completed by all employees, SurveyMonkey
will prepare a report of the relevant data for the company to
prove or disprove that the null hypothesis is true. Using
SurveyMonkey is the best way to collect data from our 385
subjects in the sample size calculated, since it is a large sample
to test.
Data mining
Data mining will be done for the production of the product. The
data mining may have to go back four years to get a clear
picture. The Items that will be looked at will be sales reports,

10. stockholders reports, production lines reports and different
analysis at different times of the year when raises were given as
compared to when they were not. This information will also be
selected at random from each year, the years will be from 2009
till 2013.
In order for this to have validity and reliability the goal
that we have must be clearly defined and adhered to. According
"Know This.com" (2014), “To those evaluating research results
should keep asking this simple question: Is the research
measuring what it is supposed to measure? We would also like
to have an outside party look over the study to get feedback.
According to ("Know This.com" (2014),“For some types of
research this can be measured by having different researchers
follow the same methods to see if results can be duplicated. If
results are similar then, it is likely the method of data gathering
is reliable.”
Appendix A
Employee Survey
1. What is your position at Pear, Inc.?
2. Do you work selling products directly to customers for Pear,
Inc.?
3. How long have you been in the sales department with Pear,
Inc.?
4. Do you sell more than one product at least 75% of the time?
5. Where does your salary rank on this scale?
a. $0-20,999/year
b. $21,000-35,999/year
c. $36,000-40,999/year
d. $41,000-45,999/year
e. $46,000+/year

11. 6. Do you believe you are properly compensated with respect to
how many products your company sells annually?
Appendix B
Sample Size Calculation:
Necessary Sample Size = (Z-score)² – Standard Deviation*(1-
Standard Deviation) / (margin of error)²
Confidence Level
z
0.95
1.96
((1.96)² x .5(.5)) / (.05)²
(3.8416 x .25) / .0025=
.9604 / .0025=
384.16≈ 385 employees
References
2009 AIChE salary survey. (2009). Chemical Engineering
Progress, 105(8), 26-32. Retrieved
from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/221584985?accountid=458.
Amah, E., & Ahiauzu, A. (2013). Employee involvement and
organizational effectiveness. Journal of Management
Development, 32(7), 661-674. doi:10.1108/JMD-09-2010-0064.
Bhat, V. (2008). Productivity in the retail industry. Applied

12. Financial Economic Letters, 1(4), 121-125.
Brownlee, J. (30, May 2012). How much is the average salary of
an Apple employee? Cult of Mac Website. Retrieved from
http://www.cultofmac.com/170548/how-much-is-the-average-
salary-of-an-apple-employee/.
Burgess, J. F. (2013). The product-price nexus and social
relations. Human Organization, 72(1), 76.
Calio, V., Frohlich, T. C., Hess, A. E., McIntyre, D. A. (22
March 2014). If you want to get rich, work for these companies.
24/7 WallSt Website. Retrieved from
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/03/18/the-15-highest-
paying-companies-in-america/.
Geer, D. (2006). Software developer profession expanding.
IEEE Software, 23(2), 112-115. doi:10.1109/MS.2006.56.
MacDonald, D. A., & Haggard, L. (1990). Turning Point
Analysis: Using Survey Research to
Call Changes in Consumer Behavior and Predict Sales
Taxes. Public Budgeting And Finance, 10(4), 47-61.
Neuman, H. (1998). Salary plus benefits: Looking at the whole
package.
Niki, N. & Nili, M. (2012). Designing distribution system of
rewards and influence on employees satisfaction case study:
Hamgamkhodro asia factory. International Journal of Business
and Social Science, 3(12).
Piercy, N. (2006) The Strategic Sales Organization.
Research Validity and Reliability (2014). From Marketing
Research Tutorial. KnowThis.com.
Retrieved August 04, 2014 from
http://www.knowthis.com/marketing-research/research-validity-
and-reliability
Tomaskovic-Devey, D., Leiter, J., & Thompson, S. (1994).
Organizational survey
nonresponse. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(3), 439.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/203960154?accountid=458.
Torzewski, K. (2008). 2008 salary report. New York: Access

13. Intelligence LLC.
University of Phoenix Material. (2014). Research Question Two
Variable Handout. QNT 561 webpage.
Whitaker, K. (1997). Motivating and keeping software
developers. Computer, 30(1), 126-128.
Winer, L. (1973) The effect of product sales quotas on sales
force productivity,
JMR, Journal of Marketing Research (pre-1986), ISSN 0022-
2437, 05/1973, Volume 10, Issue 2, p. 180.
Sheet4SALES1SALES2Mean1349Mean1267Standard
Error153.0193095361Standard
Error148.9670494377Median1206Median1140ModeModeStanda
rd Deviation530.0744373113Standard
Deviation516.0369965595Sample
Variance280978.909090909Sample
Variance266294.181818182Kurtosis-1.618083387Kurtosis-
1.5117099318Skewness0.3497192392Skewness0.398519933Ran
ge1413Range1410Minimum693Minimum639Maximum2106Max
imum2049Sum16188Sum15204Count12Count12
Sheet1PEAR's INCYearsSALES in
millionsEmployeesSalary200310051$38,522200420732$55,0802
0058733$41,209200610744$50,048200719325$40,46120081338
6$59,531200921067$33,369201020498$21,568201184569$19,1
542012639910$40,3112013678611$52,784
Sheet2
Sheet3